Boys’ Basketball

The North Branford boys’ basketball team stands at 5-5 on the year after splitting a pair of recent matchups. The T-Birds lost to Old Lyme and then defeated Haddam-Killingworth in last week’s games.

North Branford hosted Old Lyme and dropped a 70-51 decision to the Wildcats on Jan. 21. Two nights later, the T-Birds claimed a 76-68 overtime victory versus Haddam-Killingworth in a home game.

Trailing 23-15 after the first quarter, North Branford outscored H-K 18-14 during the second to cut the deficit to 37-33 at halftime. The T-Birds won the third quarter by a 17-9 margin to bring a 50-46 lead into the fourth, but H-K came back to tie the game and send it into overtime. North Branford outscored the Cougars 14-6 during the OT period and went on to win by the final score of 76-68.

Senior Mike Sitro had a huge game by scoring 29 points and grabbing 21 rebounds for North Branford. Junior Trevor Holzer had 17 points with seven assists and three steals, while senior Bret Fee chipped in with 10 points and six boards. Senior Josh Brigido hit four 3-pointers on his way to scoring 14 points for Head Coach Cliff Yerkes’s club. North Branford shot 25-of-31 as a team from the free-throw line, making several big free throws that helped the T-Birds come away with the win.

Girls’ Basketball

The Thunderbirds played three road games last week and came away with one victory to move to 7-5 on the season. North Branford took losses against Old Lyme and Lyman Hall before getting a win versus Haddam-Killingworth in recent action.

North Branford took a 53-47 defeat at Old Lyme on Jan. 21. The T-Birds held a 13-7 lead after the first quarter, keyed by four points apiece from junior Erica Piercey and sophomore Braeden LeBeau in the frame. North Branford had a 22-20 advantage at halftime and nursed its lead until Old Lyme hit a basket to go up 38-37 with 5:30 left in the game. The Wildcats were able to increase their lead in the final minutes and went on to get the victory.

Senior Lily Blomster scored 14 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, for the Thunderbirds. LeBeau finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds.

The following night, North Branford lost to Lyman Hall by the final score of 57-23. The Trojans jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the first quarter, were up 32-6 at halftime, and had a 41-14 lead through three against North Branford. LeBeau scored 10 points for the T-Birds.

Then on Jan. 24, North Branford was back on the road to face Haddam-Killingworth and won a 54-52 decision over the Cougars. LeBeau scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Thunderbirds to their Shoreline Conference victory. North Branford had to survive a last-second miss by H-K to secure their seventh win of the season.

Sophomore Hanna Senerchia turned in a solid performance by recording 10 points with three assists, while playing all 32 minutes of the game at the point guard position. She also hit two key free throws with 1:07 to play in the game. Fellow sophomore Marissa Ricardo added eight points for North Branford.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

North Branford took three defeats at Northford Ice Pavilion last week and is now 0-8-1 on the year.

The T-Birds dropped a 3-2 contest against North Haven on Jan. 19. Three days later, North Branford lost to Branford by a 7-0 final. On Jan. 25, the T-Birds took a 4-3 loss versus Trumbull.

Boys’ Swimming and Diving

The Greater New Haven Warriors boys’ swimming and diving team went up against the Lyman Hall-Coginchaug co-op in its lone meet of the week. The Warriors earned a 100-77 victory at Sheehan High School to improve to 3-2 on the year.

Freshman Christian Butler qualified for the Class LL Diving State Championship by recording a lifetime-best point total of 181.15 points for the Warriors. Fellow sophomore Patrick Cucchiarelli swam a lifetime-best mark of 1:12.14 in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Kyle Borrelli swam a lifetime bests in the 100 freestyle (56.65) and the 100 breaststroke (1:15.98), while junior Collin Romero did a lifetime best of 1:05.92 in the 100 freestyle.

Junior Connor Coyne swam a season-best time of 1:58.85 in the 200 freestyle for GNH. Junior Tanner Powell (24.22), freshman Joey Gould (26.82), and sophomore Miguel Pearce (27.40) recorded season bests for the 50 freestyle. Sophomore Finn Henry finished with a season-best mark of 59.30 in the 100 backstroke.